Health Risks of Having an Inactive Lifestyle

According to the World Health Organization or WHO, all over the planet 1 in 4 adults are not getting enough physical activity. If you feel that you’re one of them because you spend most of your waking hours seated in front of a computer or the television, this article concerns you — it’s all about the health dangers of having an inactive lifestyle.

Make sure that you share this article on your various social media sites later on so that your family and friends who are not moving around enough will be encouraged to be on their feet more often.

Does it seem like majority of your waking hours are spent sitting or lying down and you’re getting very little to no exercise? Then there’s no doubt that you are leading a sedentary life. But just because you spend a lot of your time outside your home doesn’t mean right away that you have an active lifestyle — being seated on the bus for hours on your way to your office and then sitting behind your desk until it’s 5 pm doesn’t really count as being active.

The problem with having an inactive lifestyle is that there are so many health problems associated with it. Some of the most serious ones are the following:

Depression

If you think that being depressed is only about experiencing profound sadness, better think again. Mental health experts say that depression is something that can also cause reckless behavior, mood swings, loss of interest in everyday activities, sleep changes and lack of energy. If depression is not put under control, it can have some serious repercussions.

Cancer

Your risk of battling cancer one day increases as you have less physical activity, doctors say. Especially if you pair having a sedentary lifestyle with poor eating habits, your risk of developing certain types of cancer doubles. One of the effects of having an inactive lifestyle is obesity, which can cause inflammation to strike. Doctors confirm that chronic inflammation is one of the many risk factors for all sorts of cancer types.

Obesity

Because you are getting very little to no exercise, it’s not unlikely for you to end up obese if you spend most of your time on your behind rather than on your feet. There are so many different dangers associated with being obese — from heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, certain types of cancer to mental health issues.

Type 2 Diabetes

Not moving around enough can cause sugar to pool in your bloodstream. Eventually, this is something that can lead to what’s known as insulin resistance, a condition in which the cells no longer respond accordingly to the hormone insulin. Such can considerably increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Once you are diagnosed with it, you are left with no other choice but to manage it for the rest of your life — or wind up suffering its various health complications.

Heart Disease

One of the really terrifying consequences of having a sedentary lifestyle is heart disease. According to health authorities, it is the number one killer on the face of the planet. Also, it is in fact one of the most preventable diseases out there — having a more active lifestyle is just one of the many steps that you may take to dodge it.

Body Aches and Pains

If you think that not using your joints and muscles a lot can keep them from ending up damaged, think again. Doctors say that leading an inactive lifestyle can increase your risk of suffering from pain and stiffness. Such can create a self-perpetuating problem because having body aches can keep you from wanting to move around. In order to break the vicious cycle, it’s of utmost importance for you to opt for a more active everyday life.